Electric motor noise in dash

[Bama 2SS/RS]

I searched the thread, but couldn't find out anything about this. While installing my Valentine 1 radar detector in my 2011 2SS/RS a few weeks ago, I noticed a periodic electric motor hum sound in my dash somewhere. It sounded almost like the fuel pump on my motorcycle does to pressurize the fuel line when I first turn it on. Just a quick whirrr-whirrr sound, two quick noises about a second each right after each other. Then, a minute or two later, it did it again, just two quick motor humming noises.

It was fairly quiet, and I only heard it because everything was turned off. The battery was still connected, so the car had electrical power, but the key was turned off and not even in the ignition. The radio was not turned on, and nothing else was running, to my knowledge. I was just curious if anybody knows what this sound may be from. I don't know if it has something to do with the air conditioning system, or what. The car seems to run fine, and I haven't had any issues with anything, so I don't think anything is broken, just wondering what this noise might be.

Any ideas?

[pennor]

No idea but I've heard the same thing from my dash. I too am curius what it is.

[cab2g]

I noticed that too. I can't wait to see what it is

[D Day Dog]

Bump this mystery for posts... ANYONE?

[Bama 2SS/RS]

Yep... very curious... At least now I know that it's not just my car, or some weird sound I'm imagining. Hope someone on here knows what it is, 'cause I've been stumped trying to figure it out.

[MMC]

I think its the CD player checking for a disk, the radio will operate without the key in the car. The ambient lighting will also come on if you do turn the radio on without the key. The radio times out after 10 minutes,but If you make any radio adjustment during the 10 minutes the timer resets for another 10.
My SONY DVD burner cycles like this every day at 9:00pm. I thought my house was possesed when I first started hearing that.

[THATS NO M00N]

I've heard this as well, but it's usually when I change the vents on the AC unit.

[9.8m/s/s]

I've heard it in my car too

[bmorecam]

does it sound like a old cd player spinning?

[OldJedi]

Any chance that it could be the pop-up navigation system trying to get out of the dash?

I am sorry, I was just in one of those moods.

[Bama 2SS/RS]

In my case, it doesn't sound like a CD spinning, it sounds more like a pump pressurizing something. My old motorcycle, when you would first turn it on (but before cranking) you'd hear the fuel pump spin up with a soft "whirrr" sound for a second or two, and then stop, as it pumped up the fuel lines to pressurize them.

I'm not saying that what I heard ISN'T the CD player, just that it sounds more like a pump pressurizing something. As far as the radio time-out... I have played around with the radio with the ignition off, so I know it will work without the key, but at the time I noticed this noise, the car had been sitting for several hours before I got in it, and I did not touch the ignition or the radio controls or anything else. Would just opening the door cause the radio to "wake up" like that and check for a CD? Sounds plausible, but I don't know if I completely buy that. I would definitely imagine that if you sat down and pushed the buttons on the radio it would "wake up" and then check for a CD, but without touching anything? I'm just not so sure.

My best guess (and this is just a random, out-of-left-field speculation) is that maybe it's some small pneumatic pump to operate the ventilation sytem dampers. I think most cars I've had in the past, when you switch from say "window defrost" to "floor vents" you'd hear a soft "whoosh" of what I always presumed was some pneumatic system shifting dampers around in the ductwork. Of course, in those other cars it could have just been the sound of the ventilation air whooshing as dampers close. I never gave it much thought. I've never paid attention to what this car sounds like when swapping around the vent paths, I might have to check that out.

Like I said, that's just my best guess, but it could just as easily be some extra-terrestrial transponder contacting the GM mothership, for all I know.

[Bama 2SS/RS]

Originally Posted by OldJedi

Any chance that it could be the pop-up navigation system trying to get out of the dash?

I am sorry, I was just in one of those moods.

One of these days I'm going to have to look into some sort of kit to install said navigation system. I kinda like the look of that Alpine setup that's supposed to be coming out. ...is it threadjacking if it's your own thread you started? Anways... maybe someone on here will know for sure what the weird sound in the dash is.

[binlow84]

I've heard the sound before as well, and can confirm it is NOT the CD player as the first time I heard it the radio was on and I even popped a CD in to check and it wasn't it. There was some discussion in a thread a while ago that it may be OnStar transmitting/receiving or even something with the car's compass, but we never got the final answer.

[SDubATC]

I don't know much about cars or how they work, so this suggestion is probably wrong, but could it be the anti-theft system working? I know its got that little light where the dash meets the windshield that blinks in the interval that you stated (at least I think I remember it doing that). Not sure if it would make any kind of pump-like sound, but I'm just throwing it out there...